Turbodrill



Dec. 6, 1960 s. J. GIANELLoNl, JR 2,963,099

TURBODRILL 2 sheets-sheet 1 Filed July 18, 1957 FIG. I.

\ INVENTOR SABIN J. GIANELLONLJR.

BY t ATTO;RNY5

Dec. 6, 1960 s. JQ GlANELLoNl, JR 2,963,099

TURBODRILL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 18, 1957 improved turbodrill.

2,963,099 TURBonRILL Sabin J. Gianelloni, Jr., P.0. Drawer 1870,

- Baton Ronge, La.

Filed July 1s, 1957, ser. No. 672,722

z` claims. (ci. 17s-2s) My invention relates to aturbodrill.

A turbodrill consists. essentially of a tubular turbodrill body usually suspended fr om a drill pipe which supplies.,

mud or other fluid toa turbine which drives the bit.V Conmud supplied to the turbodrill body.

It -is the general object of the invention to provide an Another object is to provide improved meansV for con-v trolling a turbodrill.

It is another object to provide an improved turbodrill. wherein the quantity of fluid supplied to the driving tur' bine is automatically controlled s'o as to maintain a fairly` uniform speed.

A further object is to provide an improved turbodrill wherein a substantially constant quantity of mud may be supplied to the `drill body and the quantity actually pass? ingthrough the turbine determined in accordance with the power'needs at aparticularconstant speed.V

Another object isjto provide `a turbodrill with means` for limiting the speedof the turbine to'a constant speed. in accordance with the needk for varying power torque" of the bit.

Another object is to provide a turbodrill wherein the.

bit is regulated sofas to be maintained at al speed below'` the predeterminedrlimit.

A more specific object is to provide improved methods for controlling the quantity of Vmud passing through theI turbine for driving the same.

Another object is to provide a turbodrill having means for conducting; all of the mud supplied to the body to thevk bit while only a portion thereof passes through the tur! bine for driving the bit.

Still anotlierobjectv is to provide a, turbodrill having means for controlling the action ofthe turbinein accordance with the power need for the bit to maintain a co-n-A stant predeterminedv speed.

A further object isto provide a turbodrill with means.

for controlling the quantity of mud to the turbine in accordance with the thrust on thebit inthe hole.

Still a further object to provide a turbodrill with means for controlling the quantity of mud to the turbine in accordance with thetorque imparted to the bit.

Other objects( and various features ofnovelty and in-, vention will be hereinafter pointed out or will become ,v

apparent to those skilled in the art,

BrieflyA stated, in a preferred. form of the invention,

there is a turbodrill body and within the body there is a rotatable shaft which is shown as anintegral part of;

after passing the turbine, is conducted to `the bit aud functions in the usual fashion. Generally speaking, the` turbine of ya turbodrill has been controlled heretofore merely by controlling the quantity and pressure of-the mudreachingzthe drill body. In myrimproved turbodrill,-

2,963,099 Y Patented Dec. 6, 196.0.y

ICC

part of the mud entering the body may pass directly to` the bitV and part may first pass through the turbine and then to the bit, The invention relates mainly to the control ofthe turbia` and the improved functioning of the turbodrill.

i Myf improved turbodrill will be shown and described as embodied 'in a more or less schematic or kinematicf form, rather than in 'a structurally accurate and complete. design. In. the drawings, which show, for illustrative purposes` only, preferred forms ofthe invention:

Fig.v 1` is a central vertical sectional view through a turbodrill, illustrating features of the invention;

"Fig, 2 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 1, but illustrating a modified form;

Fi`g.` 3 is a sectional view, taken substantially in the planeof the line 3--3 of Fig.v 2;

Fig'. 4 is a fragmentary view, similar to Fig. 1, illustrating another modification;

Fig. 5 is a` sectional View, taken substantially in the plane' of the line 5--5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 isfa.y sectional view, taken substantially in the plane; ofthe line -'oflFig 4.A

Iln "th`e form shownfin Fig. `1 there is a turbodrill body S secured to and'preferably suspended from the drill pipe 6` which, in the form` shown, supplies the mud to the turbodrill. Within the body Sis a hollow shaft 7 which, as's'hown', isan integral part of the shaft carrying a bit 8 of` any'usual or desired form. The shaft 7 is supported by a thrustv bearing 10which may consist of rubber` or other material, such as the discs 11--11 secured to the body S'andcoating discs 12-secured to the shaft 7. This thrust bearing is Varranged to have passages therethrough such as the passages 13 for the free passage of mud entering through the drill pipe 6j Within the body 5 isa y turbine for driving the shaft 7. This turbine, as illustrated, consists of rotor blades 14 carried by the shaft 7 and stator blades,15 carried by the body 5. Normally. mud enteringthrough the pipe 6 passes down through the body andthrough' the thrust bearing passages 13 and the turbine. Thus, by means of the turbine blades, the shaft 7 is rotated and, ofcourse, rotates the bit 8 with it.` A lower radial bearing 16, supports the shaft 7 at the bottom and there may beas many other radial bearings, as'maybe required.

Mud, after being passed through theturbine, enters` passages 17 inthe shaft 7 which `passages` connect withv the'centfral vbore 18 through the shaft which leads to the bit '8 in the usual fashion. In turbodrills of theprior art, the speed of the bit 8 has beenA controlled by controlling` the volume` and pressure-of mud issuing from the drill pipe', 6. method, however, has been somewhat un-f satisfactory as a control, particularly when the bit encounters` different formations. By that prior art method of control, the bit will run at excessive speed through certain. formations and at a much reduced rateV through other formations. My invention relates particularly to the method of and rneansjfor controlling the speed of the turbine.` In the'rpreferredl form this is done by regulating. the"quan titydof rnud passing through the turbine, and yet without-limitingthe total: iiow ofmud to the bit, which' total quantity is often required forproper drilling.

lin, the form Villustratedmin Fig. l, the mud entering the body through the drill pipe 6 may divide and go 'through two passages, one Passage i9 leading directly to the.

turbine andthe'second passage 294-21 leading to the bore in the hollow shaft 7. By controlling the flow of fluid through the by-pass passages 201e-2l. into the passage 18,. the part through the passagek 19 and the turbine iscontrolled so as to control the turbine speed. j

Whenff'the passages 20e-21am closed entirely, all of the U mud '-entering the body passes through passage 19` and goes directly to and through the turbine for driving the same. When the passages 20-21 are about wide open much of the mud passes therethrough thus by-passing the turbine, and therefore, the latter runs at some minimum speed.

In order to maintain the speed of the turbine and the bit 8 about constant, I provide means within the body 28 for controlling the by-pass passages 20-21. Such means, in the form illustrated in Fig. l, comprises a Vvalve 22 controlling the passage 21 and this valve is -actuated by centrifugal weights or ilyballs 23` mounted on pivots 24 and having arms engaging the valve 22, as illustrated. The spring 25 tends to urge the Vilyballs 23 together and centrifugal force, of course, tends to spread the same. Thus, as the turbine rotates the balls 23 tend to y out and the valve 22 tends to open. Thus, part of the fluid entering the body passes directly into the hollow shaft 7 and the turbine is to some extent starved and slowed down. As the turbine slows down the ball governor causes the valve to close to an extent so as to direct more of the fluid into the passage 19 and to the turbine for speeding the latter up. Thus, the total quantity of mud entering the body passes through either the passage 19 to the turbine or through both passage 19 and the passages 20-21 and nally to the bore 18 and the bit at the bottom of the shaft 7. The speed of the bit is controlled quite accurately by the centrifugal governor 23, and regardless of the bit speed all of the mud entering the body passes to the bit.

In addition to the general features described, there are several details which are of great importance. The control mechanisms are located in a body 28 threaded onto the shaft 7 above the turbine where there is ample space. The centrifugal governor mechanism 23 is entirelyv enclosed by a hood 27 and, therefore, is separated from the high pressure mud flow in pipe 6 at all times. The valve 22 is truly a balanced valve. The central bore 22a of the valve 22 connecting the space beneath the hood 27 and the discharge space beneath the valve 22 should be noted. Thus, the areas at the top and bottom of the valve 22 are always pressure balanced vertically since they are subjected to the same discharge pressure at both the upper and lower ends. Since the valve 22 is a cylindrical one in the illustrative form thereof and fits its seat 26 which is cylindrical too, all lateral external pressures also are balanced. It will be seen, therefore, that with the valve 22 pressure balanced, the movement of the valve 22 will be affected solely by the speed of the turbine and not by any variations in pressure orllow of the mud through the drill pipe 6. Except for the completely balanced valve and the yball governor control, the turbine will run at varying speeds upon the change of pressure or volume of the mud flow through drill pipe 6 or change of torque on the bit.

In the modified form shown in Fig. 2, the quantity of fluid passing through the turbine is also controlled so as to maintain the bit speed fairly constant. In this latter form shown, the body has a stufing box 30 through which the drill pipe 6' extends and in which it is slidable. The thrust bearing 11-12 and the turbine 14-15 are the same as heretofore described, and the shaft 7' has the identical passages 17 therein leading to the bore 18 and to the bit, not shown. The body 5 has an abutment bushing 31 secured thereto (part of the stuffing box) and the bottom of the drill pipe 6' carries a valve holder 32. This valve holder at the bottom of the drill pipe 6 is a continuation thereof and has a shoulder flange 33 and a compression spring 34 is interposed between the abutment bushing 31 and the shoulder 33 at the bottom of the drill pipe 6. Thus, the entire weight of the turbodrill is carried by the drill pipe 6 through the compression spring 34. The valve carrier 32 has passages 35 therein for the passage of iluid from the drill pipe 6' to the body 5 and to the passage 19 leading to the turbine, as heretofore described. This valve holder 32 carries a valve member 36 to coact with a valve seat 37 on the upper end of the tubular shaft 7'.

The thrust on the bit is caused by the weight of the turbodrill body, and drill and any other parts carried thereby. All parts of the drill body and bit are suspended on the drill pipe through the spring 34. When the turbodrill is working properly the valve 36 is about closed and nearly all of the mud passes through the turbine to drive the bit. The speed is kept normal by the amount of weight carried vby the turbodrill set up during normal drilling. By normal drilling it is meant that the speed is anything less than runaway speeds that conventional turbodrills encounter when little or no resistance is met by the drill. As long as the driller follows the turbodrill by lowering the drill pipe as driling proceeds, the drill will continue to operate as described. If the driller fails to lower the drill pipe the drill continues downward and the spring 34 starts to compress. During this time the drill operates against progressively less resistance and the speed would normally increase, but during this time the valve seat 37 is drawing away from the valve member 36 and more and more mud is bypassed through the hollow shaft 7 and the turbine and bit are consequently slowed down. Even when the bit drills down so as to hang freely, the speed will be kept within normal limits because of the small amount of mud that will be permitted to pass through the turbine. Thus, instead of controlling the quantity of mud reaching the turbine, by means of the speed of the bit, as in the form of Fig. l, the quantity of mud reaching the turbine is controlled by the thrust on the bit, as illustrated in Fig. 2. Therefore, when the turbine is suspended above the bottom, the spring 34 is compressed and the valve 36 is lifted off seat 37 permitting a maximum bypass of the mud.

In the modified form shown in Fig. 4, the quantity of lluid for driving the turbine is controlled not by the speed nor the actual hanging position of the turbodrill, but by the torque produced during the drilling operation. In the form shown in Fig. 4, the turbodrill body 5" has a bushing or gland 40 through which the drill pipe 6 extends and is rotatable. This drill pipe 6" extends down into the body 5 and has lateral passages 41-41 for conducting mud out of the pipe 6" into the body and down to the turbine 14-15 of the same type as that heretofore described. The thrust bearing 11-12 is also the same as has been heretofore described. The shaft 7 passes through the thrust bearing and the turbine the same as before, and has the passages 17--17 beyond the turbine for conducting mud into the passage 18 and to the bit, as already explained.

The upper end of the shaft 7", which is tubular, has aVV valve seat 42, and the lower end of the drill pipe 6" carries a vertically movable valve member 43 to cooperate with the valve seat 42. This valve 43 may have a through pin 44 secured therein, the ends of which t in vertical grooves 45-45 in the sides of the body 5". The end of the drill pipe 6 may have bias grooves 46 for receiving the pin 44 so that upon relative rotation between the body 5 and the drill pipe 6" the valve 4 3 will be moved up or down so as to open or close the valve seat 42, and thus control the quantity 4of mud which by-passes the turbine.

In order to utilize and control the relative rotation between the body 5" and the drill pipe 6, I preferably employ resilient means such as a rubber sleevelike torsion member 47 which may be secured at the lower end of the drill pipe 6, as indicated at 48, and at the upper end to the body 5", as indicated at 49. The amount of rotation between the body 5" and the drill pipe 6" is limited by shoulders 50-50 on the body-and the drill pipev 6" (Fig. 5). When the bit is not encountering heavy formation, there s little or no relative rotation between the casing 5" and the drill pipe 6" and the valve 43 will be in its wide-open position, as shown in Fig. 4. Then most of the mud passing down through the drill pipe 6" will pass through the valve seat 42 and go down the bore 18 directly to the bit. However, when the bit strikes a heavy formation, additional torque is set up in the turbine by reason of the fact that the shaft 7" tends to hold back, due to the engagement of the bit with the hard formation and the body 5 tends to rotate in the opposite direction, that is in a clockwise direction viewed from the bottom. This clockwise motion of the body 5" causes the pin 44 in the valve to move in the bias slot 46 and lower [the valve 43 down towards its seat 42. When the maximum torque is encountered, the valve 43 will be substantially closed and substantially all of the mud will pass through the passage 19 directly to the turbine and little or none of the mud will be by-passed through the hollow shaft.

In all forms of the invention shown, all of the mud that passes down through the drill pipe, reaches the bit either through the turbine or by being by-passed directly to the bit through the hollow shaft. In any event, the rotation of the turbine is controlled and held fairly constant, not in accordance with the quantity of mud pumped down or its pressure, as in the prior ant, but in accordance with controlling factors which may be referred to as the condition of the bit such as speed, Weight or torque. In al1 cases the speed of the bit is regulated. With a properly controlled speed of the bit and a full flow of mud thereto assured, wear of all parts is reduced to a minimum and the necessity for bit changing or other servicing is reduced to a minimum. Thus, the overall efficiency 0f the turbodrill will be much increased.

While the invention has been described in cons-iderable detail and preferred forms illustrated, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a turbodrill, a drill pipe, a drill body suspended therefrom, a rotatable shaft mounted in said body, a turbine for driving said shaft, a first passage means for conducting mud to said turbine, a second passage means for bypassing said turbine, means for controlling mud iiow in said second passage means comprising a pressure balanced valve in said second passage means, speed responsive control means connected to sa-id rotatable shaft to operate said valve, means to enclose said control means and means to communicate mud pressure in said second passage means to opposite ends of said valve whereby operation of said valve will be independent of any inlet or outlet pressure in said drill pipe.

2. In a turbodrill, Aa drill pipe, a turbine body secured thereto, ra rotatable shaft in said body, turbine means for driving said shaft in said body, turbine means for driving said shaft in said body, a first passage means for conducting mud from said drill pipe to said turbine, a second passage means around said turbine, valve means for directly controlling the flow of mud through said second passage means, said valve means comprising a slidable plug valve member, said valve member having an aperture therethrough for subjecting opposite ends of said plug valve member to the same mud pressure, centrifugal means on said rotatable shaft and connected to said plug valve for moving said valve to control the passage of mud through said second passage means, means to enclose said centrifugal means, whereby said valve will be balanced and un-aiected by changes in the mud pressure from said drill pipe.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,390,025 Drake Sept. 6, 1921 1,482,702 Sharpenberg Feb. 5, 1924 2,750,154 Boice June 12, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 368,957 Great Britain Mar. 17, 1932 762,749 Great Britain Dec. 5, 1956 

